Political Capital » Stephanie Greenhttp://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital
Politics blog featuring the latest news and analysis from Washington and the US. Political editors provide insights & data about today’s politics.Thu, 07 Aug 2014 19:48:32 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.2Powell: ‘Washington Needs Help’http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-08-05/powell-washington-needs-help/
http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-08-05/powell-washington-needs-help/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2014 17:18:01 +0000http://blogs.edit.bloomberg.com/political-capital/?p=137423Colin Powell has some straight talk for the next generation of leaders: “Stay away from stupid reality shows, and don’t spend all your time texting the person next to you.” The former secretary of state, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and retired four star general doled out advice last night at his alma […]

Colin Powell has some straight talk for the next generation of leaders:

“Stay away from stupid reality shows, and don’t spend all your time texting the person next to you.”

The former secretary of state, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and retired four star general doled out advice last night at his alma mater, George Washington University, during a discussion sponsored by the Smithsonian Associates.

Powell received his MBA from GW in 1971, where he says he got “all A’s,” but as an undergraduate at City College of New York he muddled through with a “C” average as a geology major, a course of study he described as “rocks for jocks.”

He didn’t stand out as an athlete either. “I’m the only black kid from Harlem who can’t play basketball,” he joked.

“And then I found ROTC. I found a sense of purpose, and it turned me on and it became my life’s work.”

Last night he focused on his favorite subject, leadership, the theme of his last book, “It Worked For Me: In Life and Leadership.”

“I think it’s something you’re born with. It’s something inside you,” he said about his ability to inspire others.

He explained that Russian President Vladimir Putin has the gift too.

“Mr. Putin, I know very well. I’ve negotiated with him, and spent many hours talking with him, and he’s KGB through and through. He has done something for the Russian people. He has restored their sense of pride and respect for themselves as a country.”

The same can’t be said for the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, according to Powell.

“I remember my last meeting with Arafat, and I said to him: ‘Are you going to give me something to work with? I’m the only person in our administration who will talk to you. Don’t be a political leader, be a governing leader.’ And I remember he jumped up and said, ‘You are a general, and I am a general, and I will obey!’ And he did nothing.”

Powell said the cease fires in Gaza are just a small step, and a perpetual challenge for anyone who is secretary of state.

“All of us have tried and none of us have succeeded,” he said of peace in the Middle East. ”It’s become an even more difficult situation.”

And what about things closer to home? Not an optimistic forecast there either.

“Washington desperately needs help,” Powell said. “I’ve never seen a situation between Congress and the administration and other agencies of government like this. We have got to find a way to come together.”

]]>http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-08-05/powell-washington-needs-help/feed/0Obama: Bo Has Not Eaten Any Arthttp://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-28/obama-bo-eaten-art/
http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-28/obama-bo-eaten-art/#commentsTue, 29 Jul 2014 00:07:36 +0000http://blogs.edit.bloomberg.com/political-capital/?p=136801Filmmaker Jeffrey Katzenberg and singer Linda Ronstadt played the White House: The two were among the recipients of the National Medal Of Arts presented by President Barack Obama today. “It has been 200 years since Dolley Madison saved the portrait of George Washington that hangs in this room from an advancing British army, ” the […]

The two were among the recipients of the National Medal Of Arts presented by President Barack Obama today.

“It has been 200 years since Dolley Madison saved the portrait of George Washington that hangs in this room from an advancing British army, ” the president said, in an event staged in the East Room.

“So I guess you could say that the White House has always supported the arts,” Obama said. “I’m glad to say that Michelle has never had to save any paintings that I know of from Bo or otherwise.”

Never mind that Katzenberg has donated $3 million to Priorities USA, the political organization that supported Obama’s reelection, and hundreds of thousands more to other Democratic Party causes. Ronstadt is a much smaller donor — $500 to Obama’s first presidential campaign.

The National Medal of Arts is presented annually to Americans who have made extraordinary contributions to culture in a wide variety of disciplines. ”We need them. Like medicine, they help us live,” the president said.

He explained that Abraham Lincoln was fond of reading funny stories to his aides to relieve tension during the darkest days of the Civil War and abolitionist movement.

“Lincoln laughed and laughed,” Obama said. “His Cabinet did not. So Lincoln read them another chapter. And they still sat there in stony silence. Finally, he put the book down, and said, ‘Gentlemen, why don’t you laugh? You need this medicine as much as I do.’”

The president added: ”I will probably will not be trying this in my Cabinet meetings. “

The president also honored the recipients of the National Humanities Medal: M. H. Abrams, a literary scholar; The American Antiquarian Society; historian David Brion Davis; East Asian scholar William Theodore de Bary; African-American studies scholar Darlene Clark Hine; architect John Paul Jones; documentarian Stanley Nelson; journalist and talk radio host Diane Rehm; Anne Firor Scott, the women’s studies educator; and Krista Tippett, a philosopher.

]]>http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-28/obama-bo-eaten-art/feed/0Oscar: ‘What First Ladies Should Wear’http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-26/oscar-first-ladies-wear/
http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-26/oscar-first-ladies-wear/#commentsSat, 26 Jul 2014 14:02:30 +0000http://blogs.edit.bloomberg.com/political-capital/?p=136683The George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas is looking a little more glam thanks to Oscar de la Renta, the fashion designer whose gowns have been worn by many first ladies and movie stars over the decades. “Oscar de la Renta: Five Decades of Style” opened last weekend and features original designs worn by […]

]]>The George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas is looking a little more glam thanks to Oscar de la Renta, the fashion designer whose gowns have been worn by many first ladies and movie stars over the decades.

“Oscar de la Renta: Five Decades of Style” opened last weekend and features original designs worn by Laura Bush, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Reagan.

When Bush twin Jenna married Henry Hager in 2008, she wore a custom de la Renta-designed dress, and the mother of the bride was wearing Oscar too.

The exhibition makes the case that “Oscar,” as he is known in fashion circles, knows how to make a lady feel like a grande dame, even a queen. And what a way to celebrate: The designer had a birthday this week, July 22.

In one of the exhibition’s photos, Laura Bush stands regally on the White House lawn, hand on hip, in crimson de la Renta, her adoring Scottish terriers at her feet.

Laura Bush saw the exhibition, which debuted last year at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, last week, and reflected on her wardrobe choices.

“When you are first lady,” she told the Dallas media, “there are certain fashion rules — unspoken or unwritten, but you’re aware of them always.” A first lady, she said, must look “appropriate” at all times, “lovely but not too flamboyant.”

“Oscar knows what first ladies should wear and what would look good on them, but he also knows what would be the most appropriate and the most dignified and the most elegant. And he knows the way anyone would want the first lady of our country to be seen.”

The white suit she wore for her husband’s second Inauguration Day in 2009 remains a favorite, she said.

“People gasped when I walked out. And, of course, that’s really what you want when your husband is the one being inaugurated. You want people to think that what you have on is terrific.”

]]>http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-26/oscar-first-ladies-wear/feed/0Obama: Chips and Gaucamole ‘My Big Thing’http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-18/obama-chips-gaucamole-big-thing/
http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-18/obama-chips-gaucamole-big-thing/#commentsFri, 18 Jul 2014 17:18:31 +0000http://blogs.edit.bloomberg.com/political-capital/?p=136083“This is a much hipper crowd,” President Barack Obama said today in the East Room of the White House, where his wife, Michelle, hosted 54 children and their families at the annual Kids’ State Dinner. “We have a lot of state dinners around here,” the president said, “but they’re not always this cheerful and fun.” […]

]]>“This is a much hipper crowd,” President Barack Obama said today in the East Room of the White House, where his wife, Michelle, hosted 54 children and their families at the annual Kids’ State Dinner.

“We have a lot of state dinners around here,” the president said, “but they’re not always this cheerful and fun.”

The youngsters won a healthy recipe contest as part of the first lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign, which encourages healthy eating and exercise.

The president made a short stop at the event, adding some lightness and comic relief to a day spent mired in international crises — he had come from an address to the press about the Malaysian airliner shot down over Ukraine, the president acknowledging that at least one American is among the 298 dead, and he’d been on the phone with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu this morning, with sirens heard in the background.

Young people “keep my spirits up,” the commander-in-chief told the kids. “They are so energetic and full of ideas.”

The president took the opportunity to make a confession about his own “pig-out indulgences.”

“It’s not like our family, including myself, don’t have some snacks once in a while,” he explained. “They may not be on the perfect nutrition chart.”

His daughter, Malia, is crazy about ice cream, he said. Sasha, his other child, loves “pie, just like me.”

The first lady’s vice is “French fries,” which she has “vowed” to curtail.

Michelle Obama made another culinary confession:

“Who’s a messy cook here. Me too.”

“My big thing,” the president revealed, “is chips and guacamole — just give me a bowl, and I’m out of my mind.”

For today’s meal, the first lady and her guests dined on chicken and grape salad lettuce wraps, a black bean burger and a strawberry and banana smoothie, among other bites. The recipes for the menu were concocted by the children chefs, and curated by White House chef Sam Kass, another event guest, along with Al Roker, the “Today” show anchor, who has been vocal about his weight loss struggles.

The first lady said that obesity among American children is something she will continue to fight. ”We spend $10 billion on the school lunch program,” she said. “The food our kids eat today will affect them for decades. This is no joke.”

Vice President Joe Biden, recipient of the Freedom Medal from the Roosevelt Institute in honor of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, says FDR — albeit somewhat indirectly — helped him land his wife, Jill.

“I owe Franklin Delano Roosevelt a great personal debt of gratitude,” Biden said at last night’s award ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington.

“Because it is true I did ask Jill multiple times — actually five — before she said yes,” he explained. “It wasn’t until after the fourth time I asked her, we went down to meet her grandmom, her favorite grandmom. And as I was walking by the back kitchen door, out comes grandma in her apron.”

The grandmother told Biden she was a Democrat, an FDR devotee, having been a part of his Work Progress Administration.

“I knew from that moment on I was going to marry Jill,” the diehard Democrat said. “So thank God. Thank God her grandmother was not a Republican. I’d have been dead.”

Biden told the audience: “Barack and I have one objective: By the time, we leave to vastly increase the number of people who have confidence enough to say to their kids, `Honey, it’s going to be okay.’ That’s what we need. That’s my view of what Franklin Roosevelt was about.”

Today the vice resident was in Nashville, where he addressed the National Governors Association.

“You’re the best hope we have. You treat each other with respect, and know how to cooperate,” he told the governors. “We’re looking to you.”

Biden waxed optimistic about America’s economic outlook, and status on the world stage.

“Nobody is in a better position to be the leading economy of the 21st century,” he said. “Everybody talks about China. They don’t have enough water. They have a divided population.”

`They have to grow at above 10 percent a year to keep this bargain they have with the emerging middle class,” he explained, adding that no one has spent more time with Chinese President Xi Jinping than he has. ”You will not find a single world leader in any country who wouldn’t trade place with the president of the United States.”

His own office comes with some perks, the veep noted today.

“I used to be worried about traffic congestion in America,” Biden said. “Not any more. I don’t know what the hell happened.”

“Here’s the basic truth of our country: we succeed when we are one America.” -VP upon receiving the FDR Freedom Medal pic.twitter.com/oWCP7xELK1

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) takes the stage during the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s ‘Road to Majority’ Policy Conference on June 20, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican, offers his “bromance” with Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, as perfect for television.

“We’ve asked about a reality show, ” Rand joked last night, wearing his cowboy boots and jeans. “We’ve asked the Ethics Committee if we can do it, and how we can be compensated.”

The bipartisan duo were the guests at a discussion hosted by Politico’s Mike Allen in which they discussed a freshly minted odd couple status.

“I could write a dissertation on our differences,” explained Booker, a newcomer to the Senate who has aligned himself with Paul on a number of issues, winning his friendship and trust.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport,” he said, explaining the need for members of both parties to work together.

The two have found common ground on the Redeem Act, which seeks to overhaul the justice system, allowing criminals, particularly young drug addicts convicted of non-violent offenses, better pathways to rehabilitation and success in life.

When they aren’t bonding over legislation, the two dish about their mutual adoration of “Seinfeld” and social media.

“Let’s post a selfie,” said Booker, an avid tweeter.

Paul, a recent recruit to SnapChat, gamely joined him for a photo during the discussion.

Allen asked Booker about his musical tastes. He said he is partial to “gospel, Bon Jovi, rap and show tunes. I don’t mind a little Les Mis,” he added, alluding to the classic “Les Miserables.”

Booker demurred when asked about his state’s governor, Chris Christie, a potential contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, only saying that Christie “will continue governing,” adding that he and Christie stay in touch via text often.

Paul, planning appearances in Iowa this summer, was equally coy about his own potential presidential run in 2016.

He was, however, direct about one thing: The Congressional Baseball Game, which his party lost last month. Looking forward to 2015, he said: “We’re bitter and we’re coming back for blood.”

]]>http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-10/paul-eyes-2015-booker-digs-les-mis-meet-newes-odd-couple/feed/0‘This Land is Your Land:’ Kermit the Frog w/ Miss Piggyhttp://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-07/land-land-kermit-frog-w-miss-piggy/
http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-07/land-land-kermit-frog-w-miss-piggy/#commentsMon, 07 Jul 2014 14:03:44 +0000http://blogs.edit.bloomberg.com/political-capital/?p=135021While most members of Congress headed home last week, a few remained behind for a Washington tradition: the annual “A Capitol Fourth” concert, broadcast live on PBS. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and Rep. Henry Waxman, California Democrat, were spotted in the front row on the Capitol lawn to hear music legends Frankie Valli and […]

While most members of Congress headed home last week, a few remained behind for a Washington tradition: the annual “A Capitol Fourth” concert, broadcast live on PBS.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and Rep. Henry Waxman, California Democrat, were spotted in the front row on the Capitol lawn to hear music legends Frankie Valli and Patti LaBelle.

Everything was going smoothly –, even the weather was cooperating -, until LaBelle hit a snag: “Oh, Jesus, I almost slipped,” she said, readjusting herself, but managing to sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to a standing ovation.

Valli sang classics from his time in the Four Seasons, whose story is being told on the big screen this summer in “Jersey Boys,” directed by Hollywood’s political rebel, Clint Eastwood.

The concert wouldn’t be the same without its fair share of patriotic standards, which were provided by Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, who performed a duet on “This Land is Your Land.”

Composer John Williams conducted the National Symphony Orchestra on a rousing rendition of ”The Star Spangled Banner, ” which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.

Many in the audience were wounded warriors, whom Jordin Sparks serenaded with “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

President Barack Obama spent his Fourth of July at a naturalization ceremony for military members at The White House.

“Now, this is one of my favorite events to do — and not just because we get to have a barbeque and watch fireworks later,” he said. ” It’s because each of you has traveled a long journey to this moment. And yet somehow — either because your parents brought you here as children, or because you made the choice yourselves as adults — you ended up here, in America.”

]]>http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-07-07/land-land-kermit-frog-w-miss-piggy/feed/0Pelosi’s Campaign Against AIDShttp://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-06-25/pelosis-campaign-aids/
http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-06-25/pelosis-campaign-aids/#commentsWed, 25 Jun 2014 15:39:31 +0000http://blogs.edit.bloomberg.com/political-capital/?p=134457While last night’s primary election votes were coming in, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was focused on an issue that has been a trademark since entering Congress in 1987: Eliminating AIDS. “We were having two or three funerals a day,” she said of the early days of the disease in her district in San Francisco […]

Jake Glaser and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation 25th Anniversary celebration where she was honored with the Congressional Global Champion Award. Jake is an EGPAF ambassador.

While last night’s primary election votes were coming in, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was focused on an issue that has been a trademark since entering Congress in 1987: Eliminating AIDS.

“We were having two or three funerals a day,” she said of the early days of the disease in her district in San Francisco where the mysterious symptoms were rampant. “So when I went to Congress I said I was coming here to fight HIV and AIDS,” she recalled.

Her colleagues at the time were baffled. “Why would you say that? Why would you want that to be the first thing people think about you?” she remembered them asking.

“They were not even ashamed to say such a thing, and I was ashamed for them.” Even in San Francisco, “people were shocked that I hugged” a friend with the disease, she explained.

One young woman who inspired Pelosi was Elizabeth Glaser, who contracted the disease through a blood transfusion while in childbirth in 1981. Glaser passed HIV along to her two children in utero and through breastfeeding. Her daughter died in 1988, and Glaser passed away six years later after establishing a foundation for pediatric AIDS education and research. Last night, Glaser’s surviving child, Jake, presented the California Democrat with the Congressional Global Champion Award on behalf of his mother.

The flower girl in Pelosi’s wedding to her husband, Paul, died of AIDS while still in her twenties. “We never asked her how she contracted it,” Pelosi said last night.
One of Pelosi’s earliest victories was getting a physician speaking before a congressional committee to admit that he would use the same medications to treat children with AIDS.

“There is nothing like the determination of a mother,” she explained. “Elizabeth was first and foremost a mom. I have five children, so I could identify with that.”

Today pediatric AIDS is a rarity in the U.S., yet Pelosi says there’s still more work to be done, especially on the House Appropriations Committee.

“It’s a resourceful disease. Just when you think you’ve got it, it mutates,” she said.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has a staff of more than 1,000 spread across the world, helping disadvantaged women from transmitting AIDS to their babies. Last year Secretary of State John Kerry announced that 1 million children have been born HIV-free, thanks to global health programs.

]]>http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-06-25/pelosis-campaign-aids/feed/0Washington’s Top Eaterieshttp://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-06-23/washingtons-top-eateries/
http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-06-23/washingtons-top-eateries/#commentsMon, 23 Jun 2014 21:02:12 +0000http://blogs.edit.bloomberg.com/political-capital/?p=134315Dining spots favored by celebs and the political ruling class took the top prizes at last night’s 32nd Annual RAMMY Awards, hosted by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. Fiola, on Pennsylvania Avenue, was named “Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year.” “We’re very popular for fundraisers in the spring because of the rooftop,” explained […]

Dining spots favored by celebs and the political ruling class took the top prizes at last night’s 32nd Annual RAMMY Awards, hosted by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

Fiola, on Pennsylvania Avenue, was named “Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year.”

“We’re very popular for fundraisers in the spring because of the rooftop,” explained Maria Trabocchi, who runs Fiola with her husband, Fabio.

Queen Rania of Jordan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia are recent diners, and cash raisers.

Just last week rocker Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame, was in ChurchKey, a 14th street watering hole whose cocktail menu was named “Beer Program of the Year” at the RAMMYs.

Mintwood Place in Adams Morgan, where President Barack Obama held one of his campaign’s “Dinners with Barack” in 2012, was named best “Upscale Casual Brunch” place.

First Lady Michelle Obama and administration senior adviser Valerie Jarrett are said to be fans of the shrimp burgers at Proof, on G Street. Proof’s top cook, Haidor Karoum, was named “Chef of the Year.” Oprah Winfrey has also dined at Proof in the past.

Blue Duck Tavern in the West End was saluted as having the “Service Program of the Year.” If this place rings a bell, it’s because it was the choice for the first couple for their wedding anniversary dinner in 2009.

In 2012, the President took German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the very elegant 1789 restaurant in Georgetown, which was also honored, as was the far more casual Hank’s Oyster Bar, a reliable hangout for politicians at its Capitol Hill location.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio is a regular.

When actress turned cancer lobbyist Fran Drescher is in D.C., she always stops by Ripple in Cleveland Park, this year’s winner in the “Wine Program of the Year” category.

Nominations are open to the public every January on the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington website. The finalists are announced in March, and then an anonymous committee decides the winner of the 20 categories.

]]>http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-06-23/washingtons-top-eateries/feed/0Jarrett: Housing the Homelesshttp://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-06-18/jarrett-housing-homeless/
http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-06-18/jarrett-housing-homeless/#commentsWed, 18 Jun 2014 18:56:30 +0000http://blogs.edit.bloomberg.com/political-capital/?p=133957While President Obama deals with a host of troublesome foreign policy issues this week, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett took time to talk about an issue closer to home and the heart: Homelessness. “This is the highlight of my day,” she said with a sigh at the N Street Village Annual Empowerment Luncheon. “I promise.” N […]

A homeless woman packs her belongings under heavy rain in downtown Washington DC.

While President Obama deals with a host of troublesome foreign policy issues this week, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett took time to talk about an issue closer to home and the heart: Homelessness.

“This is the highlight of my day,” she said with a sigh at the N Street Village Annual Empowerment Luncheon. “I promise.”

N Street Village is a Washington shelter that helps women struggling with homelessness, abuse and addiction get back on their feet.

“You are a rock star,” Jarrett told one woman she met at the shelter who has rehabilitated herself with a new job and life.

In 2010, Obama started “Opening Doors,” a government-run program to end homelessness in the U.S. by 2020.

Today Jarrett touted yet another government initiative, next week’s Summit on Working Families, the first of its kind the president is hosting to discuss innovative ways to put people back to work, especially those at the margins of society.

She said the 2015 federal budget proposes over $5 billion in funding to combat homelessness, a 12 percent increase from 2014. Over $300 million is offered to provide new housing.

For her, this is a sound investment.

“One homeless person costs the government between $30,000 and $50,000 a year when you factor in emergency room visits and detox programs,” she explained. By providing housing, the government can reduce this figure to about $20,000, she said.

Laura Green Zeilinger, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, said the investments the Obama administration is making are paying off. She cited a statistic claiming that veteran homelessness is down by nearly a quarter.

“No administration has been out front like this administration has,” she said.

To many, N Street Village is an example of how the private sector is doing a better job confronting the scourge of homelessness.

According to its website, N Street Village receives about 80 percent of its funding from private sources, including foundations, corporations and private donors. Government contracts account for about 20 percent of the N Street Village budget.